Milking the World's Most Venomous Spider!

- Putting in some poison. We simply pass the pipette over the tips of the fangs. They are hollow like a hypodermic syringe. And by sucking it down as she produces the poison, we simply suck it up to the tip of this pipette. -Now, how many males do you need to milk before you get a vial of real poison with which you can make an antidote? - We hope to have between 250 and 400 males in a year that we will have to milk every day, throughout the year, to keep up with the quota we must give to the Commonwealth Serum Laboratories. - And in your opinion, would you say that this is the

most

dangerous

spider

in the

world

?

world

? - Definitely definitely. - Well. - You really don't want to get bitten by one of these.

The good thing we have in Australia is that the reptile park produces the poison to make the antidote. Since the antivenom came out in 1981, we have had no deaths attributed to a funnel-web

spider

bite. So it's very good. - Actually? Well, the research is working, the antidote is working, but how many people would you say are bitten each year? Because it is an extremely common species found in suburban areas. - Definitely. We have a lot of people and a lot of conflicts with funnel web spiders in the area. Every year there are about five people who need a large amount of antidote.

There are also bites that present in the hospital and do not present serious poisoning. - Good. - And they may not require antidote. It is always a last resort, the antidote. - Okay, now the spider we caught last night is a female. And luckily I wasn't bitten, but if I was, what would I have wanted to do in that case? - The first thing you should do is place a total compression bandage on the bite area. - Well. - If that was on your hand, any bracelets, rings, watches or jewelry should be removed immediately. - So this would have been problematic? - Definitely take it off.

It will swell immediately. - Let's say they bit me on the tip of my finger. - Basically, what we're going to do with a bite is that you first have to go around the bite site. - Well. - These bandages are great. They are going to tell us the correct tension to put it on. When they form a square, we know they have the right tension to restrict the flow of the venom. You go around the bite site, and then what you're going to do, because it's on the tip of the finger, we're going to go around the entire limb.

We don't stop at the wrist, we don't stop at the elbow. We go up as far as the bandage allows us. Now that there is pressure, you can feel that it is quite tight. - Oh yes, I feel like a mummy. - The idea is to restrict the flow of that poison that passes through the lymphatic system. We want to restrict that flow and hopefully the poison will be neutralized down here and not rot in your body. - Well. - Once you have that there, you will stay still. If you have a button-down shirt or a sling, you put it on.

And you want to get to the hospital as soon as possible, call an ambulance or ask someone to take you. You don't want to try to drive a vehicle yourself or you will roll over. - Yes, I can certainly feel that it is putting quite a bit of pressure on my arm. Now, like I said, as we all know, I wasn't bitten, but here's the million dollar question. Have you ever been bitten? - Luckily, no spider has ever bitten me. - Actually? - So no, no spiders. - Wow, so you are very careful when you work with these spiders. - You definitely have to be very careful when working with these spiders. - Yeah, well, when we were filming last night, I'll tell you what, I was nervous about being around that spider.

This is good to know. I mean, it seems like this is something everyone should have in their first aid kit here in Australia. - Definitely in Australia. Venomous snakes around the world differ and in different areas you would not. In Australia with our lipids this same bandage will work on any of our

venomous

snakes as well as our funnel web spiders. - Okay, well, let's get this off my arm. I've seen you milk a spider. I think if you are ready, I am ready to take advantage of the Sydney funnel network. Does that sound good to you? - That sounds great.

I'll leave this little one far away. - Alright. Things are about to get dangerous. Oh boy, here we go. (dramatic music) I'm just going to gently coax her out. There she is. That's a big funnel web spider right there. Okay, I'm going to reach out and grab a pipette. Here we go. Wow, look at that. Wow, okay, you can already see the venom coming out of the tips of the fangs. And what Kane said is that I actually want to convert her a little bit. -So if you touch her hind leg on this side, she will turn around and look towards the pipette. - Entering with the pipette.

Okay, my hand is shaking. Just gently removing that poison from the edge of the fangs. Wow, here we go. Okay, there's definitely poison inside the pipette. If I get her to rear up a second time, she'll still produce venom, right, Kane? - Yes, that is correct. Even once you've picked her up like this with her legs up, a gentle smack directly toward those fangs will sometimes make her push a little further into you. (soft music) That's it. She just lowers her fangs. - She just bit the pipette. You can feel the power in that punch. Well, I think that's all the venom she has to give.

And it's not as much as I thought she was going to get out of there. I can see why you guys have to milk so many of these spiders to build a vial to create that antidote. - Yes, exactly. It's not as much as what you'll get from one of our

venomous

snakes in Australia, but it shows you how powerful it is. It is only a small amount that does a lot of damage. - Okay, now what do I want to do with this? - Place the pipette back here securely. - Okay, I'll pass it on to you. - I'll take it for you. - I'm going to put this little capsule back in for safety reasons. - Excellent. - There you go.

Wow, wow. That was stressful. - Something exciting. - And you do this every day, right? - Every day, I love it. - Wow. Well, this was great. Thank you so much for letting me milk a funnel web spider. - There is no problem, I appreciate it. - Now it wasn't male, it was just female, but that doesn't matter. Poison still has value. Now, for everyone watching, if you come across one of these spiders, try to catch it safely and bring it here to the Australian Reptile Park. Because this is the only place that... - Milks funnel nets for antivenom production in Australia. - That's right, guys.

So if you bring one here, there's a chance you'll save a life. I'm Coyote Peterson. Be brave, stay wild. See you on the next adventure. (upbeat music) - The Australian Reptile Park is the only sanctuary of its kind in Australia to have a spider and snake venom

milking

program. And the good news is that his antidote creation has saved thousands of lives for more than 50 years. If you encounter a snake or spider while exploring in Australia and admire the animal from a safe distance, the chances of being bitten are very slim. However, unexpected bites can occur.

And if you find yourself in the worst case scenario, be sure to stay calm and seek medical treatment immediately. (upbeat music) (birds singing)